Football: More than just ink for CU Buffs players

Players make conscious tattoo decisions

By Kyle Ringo Buffzone.com

Posted:
08/24/2013 04:00:00 PM MDT

Colorado wide receiver Paul Richardson estimates he has 30 tattoos on his body, but has made sure that they are "very coverable with a shirt and tie and slacks on," so as to not hurt him in the future.
(
CLIFF GRASSMICK
)

It's impossible to watch a college football game or other sports in which parts of the athletes' bodies are visible and not wonder these days about all those tattoos.

Prior to Dennis Rodman in the mid-1990s, it was generally rare to see an athlete with a tattoo, let alone a star athlete covered in them.

In an average college football game there can be a dozen or more players on the field with some kind of body art on any given play. The Colorado Buffaloes are no different. Numerous members of the 2013 Buffs have at least one tattoo. No Buff has more than star wide receiver Paul Richardson, who estimates he has 30 on his arms, legs, chest, back and sides.

In many cases the tattoos are reminders of tough times gone by, a close friend or loved one or a spiritual message of particular significance. In other cases, they can be bad reminders of a rowdy night or just plain poor decision making.

"I don't have any stupid tattoos or tattoos to where it's like, 'Maybe I shouldn't have got that,'" said Richardson, who admits getting his first tattoo at 15 or 16 despite his parents telling him not to. "All my tattoos mean something to me. They don't have to mean something to the people that view them. I don't have any tattoos to where people would be like, 'I don't know if we can deal with that person because he has something really bad on him.'"

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Richardson said the tattoo that means the most to him is on his upper-left arm. It is a pair of hands together in a praying pose with wings beneath them and the names of numerous women in his life who invested their time and love in him to help him get to this point in his life. Those women include his mother, grandmother, aunts and a friend's mother.

Richardson said he got the vast majority of his tattoos done in high school before ever coming to CU. The same is true for defensive back Kenneth Crawley, who says he has 20 tattoos but hasn't added any new ink since his senior year.

Crawley has the words "God's Gift" tattooed on one of his forearms as a reminder of how precious life is.

Fellow defensive back John Walker estimates he has 10 tattoos. He has both his forearms covered. One carries the word "dedication." The other has "motivation" on it. Both are done in a special script.

"That is just something I look at every day and strive to be better and dedicated and motivated to what I have coming for me and what I'm doing," Walker said.

Defensive end Samson Kafovalu joined the tattoo fraternity this summer when his parents gave him the OK to get a tattoo on his upper right arm as long as it honored his Tongan heritage or God.

Kafovalu chose to do a little of both by having part of the Tongan Seal tattooed on his arm.

"I will never forget my roots," he said. "My parents came from the island of Tonga and came to America for a better life."

Most players have their limits and wouldn't think of tattooing certain parts of their bodies such as the face or neck. Richardson said he has always kept his future professional life in mind when deciding what tattoos to get and where to have them on his body.

"I won't get one on my face. It doesn't send a good message. All my tattoos are very coverable with a shirt and tie and slacks on. That was my biggest thing. I never wanted to get one where I couldn't cover it and not look professional."